Mexico's Lower House Passes Judicial Reform Despite Protests

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Facts

  • Mexico's Chamber of Deputies on Wednesday approved (359 to 135) Pres. Andrés Manuel López Obrador's judicial reform, moving the bill to the Senate where the ruling Morena party is close to a two-thirds supermajority.[1]
  • This comes as demonstrators, including students and court employees who have gone on strike, gathered outside Congress on Tuesday and blocked access to the lower house in protest against the proposed overhaul.[2][3][4]
  • The leader of Morena in the lower house, Ricardo Monreal, urged his fellow lawmakers to respect the rights of protesters and discouraged them from trying to 'enter' the building, adding that moving to alternative venues was no problem.[5][4]
  • The debate and vote proceeded despite a legal order temporarily blocking them until Wednesday. The reform would see thousands of judges elected by popular vote, reduce the number of Supreme Court judges and shorten their terms, and create new supervisory bodies.[5][6][7]
  • Legal scholars and foreign diplomats, among others, claim that these proposed changes to the constitution would weaken checks and balances in courts. Last week, Obrador halted diplomatic relations with US and Canadian embassies amid criticism.[8][9]
  • A few countries, including Switzerland and the US, allow judges to be elected on a significant scale, but the only democratic country in the Western Hemisphere that elects federal or national judges is Bolivia.[10][11]

Sources: [1]BBC News, [2]Associated Press, [3]Al Jazeera, [4]Mexico News Daily, [5]Bloomberg, [6]Reuters (a), [7]Reuters (b), [8]Axios, [9]CNN, [10]Wsj and [11]New York Times.

Narratives

  • Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by teleSURenglish. It's urgent that Mexico reforms its judicial system, as most Mexicans have expressed their desire to be able to vote for judges and magistrates rather than being subject to the dictates of the judiciary elite. These changes are part of a broader push to bring more equality and social justice to Mexico.
  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by The Hill. As Obrador enters his final month in office, his goal is clearly to consolidate his Morena party's power and reform the judicial system to install a totalitarian regime in Mexico. Instead of promoting true independence and democracy, these plans will do the opposite, by lowering professional standards and creating further vulnerabilities.

Predictions